in other words, let the top tax rates expire, go up to bill clinton's 39.6%? why pass that when we know harry reid will kill it in the senate or obama will veto it? why go out on a limb and abandon the idea that republicans never allow a tax hike for something that's just going to be an attempt at a strategic thing? the reason they thought it would fail was because it would involve trying to what i meblamf we went over the fiscal cliff, and republicans don't think the media would accept that narrative. you know better than i would how the media would react but that was the feeling on the republicans' part, they couldn't successfully pin obama with going over the cliff. >> i never speak for the media, i speak only for myself, and i don't know. it's going to depend. you have a column in december that said, john boehner, cat herder. i was thinking the cats got the better of the speaker. what do you think that means for his future? does he remain as speaker? does someone else come in and take over because it's an indication he can't control his own group? >> well,